Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies.Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

The Base Path Ball and Chain

In recent days, the Phillies seem to keep finding new ways to lose. After a 6-game winning streak, the offense went back to sleep and the team has lost 3 in a row. A 2-1 loss to the Nationals Monday night was the worst of the bunch.

While Kyle Kendrick started out shaky, filling in for the injured Vance Worley, he did settle in and keep the Phillies in the game. Kendrick allowed only 2 runs over 7 innings, which is more than was probably expected of him.

But again, the offense let Kendrick down and did so in every way they could have imagined. At the start of the year, no one was hitting. Now, they are hitting but not scoring. It actually appears as if Phillies hitters get on base and then are somehow magically chained down to the base path via an evil, invisible force. Because they just cannot seem to get as far as home plate.

Last night, they left 10 men on base and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. All by himself, Hunter Pence left 7 men on base, including a ground out with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 3rd.

Even Carlos Ruiz, who has been the hottest hitter this year, left 5 men on base. But the hitting alone was not the only issue. The Phillies managed to make several base running blunders to add to the chaos.

In the 6th, with no out and runners on 2nd and third, the Phillies again failed to score. Placido Polanco froze at third on a fly ball to center and did not tag up. Then in the 9th, John Mayberry Jr. also got chained to 3rd base and failed to score twice, once on what should have been a sac fly and then again on a wild pitch. He did finally score on a sac fly after that, but then Mike Fontenot found himself super-glued to second and did not advance to 3rd on the play.

With the base path ball and chain in place, the Phillies were “bound” to lose. Bound, tied and chained; in the world’s oldest profession, that may sound like fun to some of you. But in the world of baseball, it is not fun at all. And even worse, we are not getting paid to watch this crap!

Random Updates

– Pitcher Vance Worley has sought out a second opinion on his sore elbow, which appears to have a bone fragment floating around in it. No word yet on whether he will opt to have surgery.

– Congratulations to Jimmy and Johari Rollins! Johari gave birth to a baby girl on Sunday night. She is their first child :O)

– And if you can stomach it, Game 2 with the Nationals starts at 7:05pm tonight.

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